Athletics

Hold on to your horses

Andrew Paulhamus begins each day at 6 a.m. working on his family’s sixth-generation dairy farm in Linden, Pa. When he’s not busy helping with the family business, which features a herd of 100 Holstein cattle, he can be found at Lycoming College, where the sophomore is an accounting and finance major and a member of the choir. In his spare time, he trains his Friesian horse, which he imported from the Netherlands four years ago.

In 2004, Paulhamus attended a camp sponsored by the American Driving Society, to train with the top carriage drivers in the country. Since then, he has had the opportunity to meet and work with some of the world’s best drivers. Paulhamus spent six weeks in Holland and Hungary at the 2009 World Pairs Championships, and this past fall, attended the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Ky.

Paulhamus is currently active in pleasure driving, which emphasizes horse manners. He has also served as a navigator during carriage driving competitions.

“The experience is invigorating; quite an adrenaline rush,” he said. “It’s a lot more involved because you are also controlling the horse. You are working with something that has a mind of its own. They go by what you train them to do. It’s teamwork between the driving, the navigator and the horse.”

When he finishes college, Paulhamus hopes to establish a small, business consulting company. But before that happens, he plans to enjoy his time at Lycoming.

“I love it here,” he said. “It’s been great. I like the small-school setting, because your professors are really more like your friends or colleagues. I don’t think my experience here would be the same without the choir. It’s a unification of people with like minds. Dr. Fred Thayer [director of choirs] does a great job and really enjoys his work. And that reflects a lot on the choir.”